Charlie Polinger opens his thrilling and uneasy directorial debut feature The Plague with an arresting sequence that quickly establishes the haunting undertones of this adolescent psychological thriller. The ambient, muffled sound of sloshing water is set against a shot of the bottom of a pool. One by one, swimmers drop into the massive indoor basin. Their spindly legs move awkwardly as they try to get in sync. It’s 2003, and these are the middle-school-aged attendees of the Tom Lerner Water Polo camp. From this angle, Polinger and his cinematographer Steven Breckon make these kids look like phantasmic figures. 

An eerie sense of unreality runs through The Plague, which premiered at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard sidebar. Working from a screenplay he also wrote, Polinger uses horror conventions to tease out the psychic terror and intimidation of pre-teen social codes. In the age of renewed questions about and considerations of the manosphere, The Plague is a prescient title. Polinger’s film is not as dark as Netflix’s popular miniseries Adolescence, but it does circle similarly unsettling themes — like the way the terms and tenets of masculinity are dictated by arbitrary rules, or the cost of nonconformity among young men.

Key performances carry The Plague and alleviate the occasional strain of overwrought direction. Relative newcomers Everett Blunck (stellar in Griffin in the Summer) and Kayo Martin portray opposite ends of youthful angst with an engaging sincerity and terrifying accuracy. Martin, with the subtlety of his judging expressions, seems especially made for his role as Jake, the resident cool kid who weaponizes his sharp attention to detail. The actor plays well against Blunck, who portrays Ben, a new camper trying to figure out where he fits among the various cliques. An anxiety-inducing sound design (by Damian Volpe) and score (by Johan Lenox), coupled with an appropriately icy visual palette built on grays and blue, help tell Polinger’s nail-biting story. 

When Ben (Blunck) arrives at the water polo camp, he quickly notices the hold that Jake (Martin) has on the other boys. The teen with the mess of blonde hair functions as a ring leader and, with his approval, Ben becomes part of the crew. The other boys call Ben, who just moved from Boston, “Soppy” on account of the fact that he garbles the “t” in the word “stop.” One thing Polinger makes clear early on is how closely Jake scrutinizes the other boys — noticing minor characteristics that differentiate them from one another — and uses those observations to mock them. This skill keeps Jake in power, making him an intimidating person to everyone, including the boys’ coach Daddy Wags (Joel Edgerton, in a brief but effective turn).

Ben watches the others too, and he quickly picks up that no one hangs out with Eli (Kenny Rasmussen, also excellent). The quiet child keeps mostly to himself, eating lunch in the locker room and occasionally sleeping there too. According to the other kids, Eli has the plague, a vague disease that allegedly begins with a rash and renders the infected unable to socially function. Jake warns Ben to stay away from Eli and to wash his body should he accidentally get too close. In a clever move, Polinger never establishes if the plague is real because even if it isn’t, the fear it sows is. 

The remainder of The Plague follows Ben as he tries to reconcile social acceptance with his own moral code. He understands that people shouldn’t be exiled for their differences and yet the idea of losing his place within the hierarchy keeps him up at night. Blunck deftly portrays Ben’s inner turmoil and the anxiety his journey produces.

Polinger deploys jump scares, intimate close-ups (especially of Jake and Ben staring at one another) and elements of body horror to recast these coming-of-age dilemmas as high-stakes, nightmarish challenges. When the director widens his scope, to survey the broader social behaviors on display, The Plague adopts a primal urgency and the film possesses the feverish energy of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies or Claire Denis’ Beau Travail. In one of those scenes Polinger observes the boys during lunch, excitedly speaking over each other and laughing. The camera ominously cuts (editing is by Henry Hayes) between views of the group and the faces of individual campers. For the most part, they are children having a good time, but if you look closely you can see a flash of panic beneath the cheerful visages. 

BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU track and field team is kicking off the outdoor postseason this weekend with the SEC Outdoor Championships hosted at the UK Track & Field Complex in Lexington, Ky.

Live Results | Meet Schedule | Meet Information

LSU will have 46 student-athletes (26 men, 20 women) competing this weekend at the SEC Outdoor Championships.

Live coverage of the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships will air on SEC Network+ and the SEC Network. The broadcast talent includes Dwight Stones, Dan O’Brien, Larra Overton and John Anderson.

Thursday: SEC Network+ Stream (10:30 a.m.) | SEC Network+ Stream (4:30 p.m.)
Friday: SEC Network+ Stream (10:00 a.m.) | SEC Network+ Stream (4:00 p.m.)
Saturday: SEC Network+ Stream (1:30 p.m.) | SEC Network Stream (5:00 p.m.)

A total of 23 SEC men’s and women’s track and field teams are ranked among the nation’s top-25 teams, according to the latest national rankings announced Tuesday by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association.

The LSU women won the SEC outdoor title last year in Gainesville, Fla., while the Arkansas men claimed the other title. The Tigers tallied 126 points to win the 53rd conference title for the program, and the 26th overall for the women’s program alone. A total of 14 Lady Tigers contributed to the win, including a team-high 16.5 points from Brianna Lyston in her sophomore season. Six of the 14 scorers returned for this outdoor championship.

What to Watch for this Meet
Women’s 100 Meter
The outdoor season has been one for redemption after a few questionable DQ’s at the end of the indoor season for Tima Godbless. The sophomore ranks third in the SEC with a season-best time of 11.12 seconds in the 100 meter. Godbless holds the third-fastest wind-legal time in the SEC, and also has a No. 5 time in the SEC for the 200 meter. This event is one to watch as she hasn’t reached the Tokyo World Championship standard in it like she has in the 200m. She also is inching closer and closer to the sub-11 second mark and the LSU all-time Top 10. She took fifth in the 100m last year at the SECs with a time of 11.14 seconds.

Men’s 100 Meter
The freshman that has stood out the most this season for the Tigers is the dual-sport star Jelani Watkins. He holds a wind-aided SB of 10.01 seconds from the second outdoor meet of the season, while clocking a legal PR of 10.03 seconds a few weeks back. Watkins ranks fourth in the SEC with his SB, but will likely need to close in on the 9.90 second barrier to win the 100m title in Lexington. It will take a lot, but it wouldn’t be the first time a freshman Tiger took a leap in the postseason to shock the world.

Men’s 200 Meter
Cayman Islands’ finest, Jaiden Reid, has a chance to upset the national leader this weekend in his 200-meter appearance. The sophomore holds a wind-aided SB of 20.33 seconds that ranks fourth in the SEC this season. His personal-best comes from this indoor season where he ran 20.27 seconds, but has been unable to go below 20.65 seconds legally this outdoor season. Reid will likely need to clock 20.25 seconds or below to medal in the loaded 200m field.

Women’s 800 Meter
Michaela Rose enters this meet as a heavy favorite and is currently the only Tiger to rank first in an event in conference. Rose clocked a huge personal-best time of 1:58.12 in the last regular season meet, improving her No. 2 time in collegiate history. The second-fastest runner in conference took fourth in that race, six seconds behind Rose. If she was able to win this week’s 800-meter title, it would be the seventh overall and the sixth 800m SEC title in her career.

Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles
In their second season together, Matthew Sophia and Jahiem Stern have proved to be the best duo in the country this season. Both Tigers rank top 10 in the nation and top 5 in the SEC, with Sophia closing the regular season with a SB time of 13.31 seconds and Stern holding a SB of 13.35 seconds. Neither Tiger has medaled outdoors yet, but Stern closed the indoor season taking bronze in the 60-meter hurdles at the SEC Indoor Championships and fifth at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Women’s Javelin Throw
Sophomore Trinity Spooner closed her regular season with a SB toss of 53.37 meters (175’ 1”) at the LSU Invitational. Last season she earned bronze at the SEC outdoor meet and is looking to medal again in her second season. Spooner holds a PR of 55.24 meters (181’ 3”), which is likely near what it will take to medal again in a loaded conference field.

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The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.

It seemed like everything was working against Wilson in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs on Thursday.

Despite winning a share of the Moore League title for the first time since 2017, the Bruins had to go on the road for their postseason opener, their bus was late causing a delay in the start time, and waiting for them was the Empire League champs Fullerton. Or as Wilson coach Andy Hall put it, “We ran into a buzz saw and it’s tough to overcome that in the playoffs.”

Fullerton jumped out to a four-run lead after the first inning and never looked back on its way to a 8-2 win over Wilson.

“It’s a bittersweet way to end the season, but there’s a lot of good things that we can take away from this season and today,” Hall said. “They were just good kids and they pulled for each other and stuck together. It’s really hard to put into words right now. “

Wilson senior Ben Howard got the start and recovered quickly after the first inning. He pitched into the sixth inning while giving up 12 hits and a walk.

Howard was the best pitcher in the Moore League and said after the game that he will remember the entire journey with Wilson baseball.

“I remember that first practice (as a freshman team) at Whaley Park and just growing up (with the fellow seniors),” Howard said. “These four years of high school have been very meaningful. They’ve taught me a lot and they’ve been there for me every step of the way.. Even though we lost, we are Moore League champions.”

Senior first baseman Rudy Carlos has been the catalyst for the offense this season and got Wilson on the board in the fourth inning. He led off with a single and would score on Howard’s RBI single.

“He’s a warrior,” Hall said of Carlos. “He carried this team as the Moore League Co-MVP. One of the things that I really like about Rudy in addition to his offense, is how much better he got defensively over the course of the last two years. He was really good with the glove, especially down the stretch this year. We’re going to miss him. He’s meant a lot to this program in three years on Varsity.”

The Bruins had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the fourth, but Fullerton pitcher Declan Fitzgerald got two strikeouts to escape the jam. The junior pitched six innings while scattering six hits and four walks. He struck out eight.

Fullerton quickly padded its lead in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it 6-1 and Wilson wouldn’t score again until the seventh inning when Adrian Marquez hit a solo home run in his last high school at bat.

It was an emotional postgame talk from the Wilson coaches after the loss, and Carlos was the last one to leave the field.

“I’ll always remember the fun times we had joking around while playing as hard as we can,” Carlos said. “I’m going to miss these guys. These are my boys. We’ve been together for four years and it felt like my whole life. It’s been a great time with them.”

JACKSONVILLE – Austin Peay State University’s track and field team concluded its opening day of the 2025 Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships with multiple Governors posting personal bests, Thursday, at Hodges Stadium.

The Govs began the day’s events in the field in the hammer throw with both Emma Tucker and Marcia Dejesus setting personal bests at 44.21 and 40.58 meters, respectively. Both of their marks surpassed their previous record by over two meters.

Later in the evening, Ja’Kyah Montgomery set a personal best in the high jump with a 1.54-meter leap.

Off to the track, Busiwa Asinga qualified for Saturday’s finals in the 400-meter hurdles, while Shaniya Davis set a personal-best in the event with a time of 1:06.85.

Concluding the day’s events in the 200-meter dash preliminaries, Taylin Segree and and Asinga both qualified for the finals after posting personal bests with a 24.21 and 24.40-second marks. Seven Pettus also tallied a PR in the event with a time of 25.12.

The Governors are back in action tomorrow afternoon with Tucker, Dejesus and Chloe Peterson competing the discus toss.

For news and updates throughout the Governors’ postseason stay, follow the Austin Peay track and field team on X or Instagram (@GovsXCTF) or check back at LetsGoPeay.com for the latest news and stories.

The boys volleyball team lost to the Carlmont Scots in four sets: 23-25, 26-28, 25-22, and 20-25 in the first round of CCS to conclude their season on Tuesday night.

The Bears came out strong in the first set with powerful kills by junior outside hitter Ben Warner and senior setter Peter Chriss to put the Bears up 5-1. Utilizing their momentum, the Bears managed to maintain a lead for most of the set.

Despite this, the Scots were able to chip away from the Bears’ early lead by getting a couple of kills of their own. After facing offensive difficulty due to the Scots’ towering block, the Bears found themselves down 20-16 and in need of a timeout to slow the game down.

Unable to recuperate, M-A went on to lose the set with a tight score of 25-23.

Heading into the second set, the Scots continued to control the game, building a sizable lead of 15-9, thanks to a handful of strong kills and blocks. The Bears kept getting called for sloppy errors, giving the Scots free points, and adding to M-A’s frustration.

“We started really bad. And it’s hard to come back from that,” Senior middle blocker Luis Licea said.

Desperate to find their way back into the game, senior opposite Jonny Kerr, Warner, and Chriss took matters into their own hands by hitting multiple kills, forcing the Scots to call their first timeout to regather. 

The Bears were able to take the lead due to a diving save by freshman libero Nick Sandoval to Chriss, who then shot a set over to Kerr, and finished the play by smashing the ball past the Scots’ defense, with a 17-14 lead.

M-A continued to add more to their lead. Chriss’ soft touch over the leaping Scots defenders had the Bears up 26-25, needing only one more point to even the set score. But, Carlmont stayed resilient and tied the score with a lethal kill, followed by a block that gave them the lead. The Scots put an end to the set with a kill directly between the Bears’ defense, winning 28-26.

Nevertheless, M-A refused to give up. Managing to build an early lead again, 12-8, they had all the momentum. Warner and Kerr continued to dominate, tipping the ball over the defenders, finding holes in the defense, and blocking. 

The Bears were able to win the third set 25-22, after an attack error by Carlmont, boosting the Bears confidence heading into the next set.

Beginning the fourth set, the Scots had the early lead, 9-5, trying to bounce back from the last set. However, multiple Carlmont service and attack errors helped the Bears stay in the game. 

After the Bears tied up the game, Carlmont made a circus-style play to quickly take back the lead. Because of this, the Bears momentum was killed, and the Scots were playing at their best and took off with the game.

M-A was forced to call a timeout when they were down 23-18. The Scots tried to end the game, but the Bears wouldn’t go down without a fight. Chriss and Warner both got a kill, but it was too late, falling 24-20. On the next play, the Scots cracked the ball toward the middle of the court, giving the Scots the win, 25-20.

“The worst part is realizing, tomorrow, I’m not going to be at practice,” Sandoval said.

“I’ve built a close connection with this team. It’s hard to go down like this,” Kerr said.

This game concludes the season for the Bears.